Thinking of their predecessor in cases where that person is working outside the pastorate, current senior pastors are most likely to say the previous pastor left due to a change in calling (32%), church conflict (18%), burnout (13%), being a poor fit with the church (12%), or family issues (10%). Fewer point to a moral or ethical issue (8%), an illness (5%), personal finances (5%), or a lack of preparation (3%).
Regardless of how the previous pastor left, the vast majority of pastors feel confident in their position. Nine in 10 pastors (90%) say they are sure they can stay at their current church as long as they want, including 60% who strongly agree.
Church Conflict
While only 15% of pastors a decade ago have left the pastorate and fewer than 1 in 6 pastors say conflict drove that pastor from the pastorate, many pastors have experienced conflict in their church.
Among the pastors surveyed who pastored a different church previously, almost half (47%) say they left their last church because they took it as far as they could. Another third (33%) say their family needed a change. A quarter say there was conflict in the church (25%). More than 1 in 5 points to the church not embracing their approach to pastoral ministry (22%) or having unrealistic expectations of them (21%). Another 18% admit they were not a good fit for the church. Few say they were reassigned (14%) or asked to leave the church (10%).
Even if conflict didn’t cause them to leave their last church, most pastors (69%) say they dealt with some type of conflict there. More than 1 in 3 say they experienced a significant personal attack (39%), had conflict over proposed changes (39%), or were in conflict with lay leaders (38%). More than a quarter ran into disagreements over expectations about the pastor’s role (28%) or their leadership style (27%). Fewer experienced conflict over doctrinal differences (12%) or politics (8%).
“Churches are groups of people, and even like-minded people do not always get along,” said McConnell. “It would be naïve to think a church would not experience disagreements. The important thing is whether that church maintains unity and love for each other as they navigate those differences or stoops to personal attacks as many pastors have experienced.”
Their previous experience with conflict leads 4 in 5 pastors (80%) to expect they will have to confront it in their current church in the future. As part of this preparation, 9 in 10 say they consistently listen for signs of conflict in their church (90%) and invest in processes and behaviors to prevent it (89%).
Ministry and Family Stresses
Direct conflict with churchgoers is not the only type of issue pastors face in their ministry. They often feel overworked and overloaded as individuals and worry about the toll their work may take on their family.
Most pastors say they are on-call 24 hours a day (71%) and their role is frequently overwhelming (63%). Half of pastors (50%) say the demands of their job are often greater than they can handle. Many say they feel isolated (38%) and face unrealistic expectations from their church (23%). One in 5 pastors (21%) admit they frequently feel irritated at their church members.
